Value of Cycling to Scottish Economy

Cycling worth over £500m a year to Scottish Economy

The first ever study to measure the total economic contribution of cycling to Scotland has found it is worth well over half a billion pounds each year.

The study was commissioned by Cycling Scotland and includes the value of manufacturing, retail & tourism activity. The figure does not include any estimate of the health, environment or congestion busting benefits of cycling.

The research, by Transform Consulting, found that cycling made a total economic contribution to Scotland of £596-774m. The related figure for the Gross Value Added (GVA) of cycling to the Scottish economy was in the range of £321m-367m per year.

These are conservative estimate of the value of cycling because they exclude not only massive indirect benefits related to health, environment and congestion but also the sale of cycle food and clothing, and the building & maintenance of cycle infrastructure.

The Founder and Chief Executive of Endura, a company based in Livingston, Jim McFarlane said:

“Being a Scottish firm is a unique selling point for us because most of our buyers have a positive image of Scotland and associate it with high quality, dependable products and as having character. We manufacture an increasing percentage of our range at our own facility in Livingston and are looking to continue our rapid growth internationally across Europe, North America and Asia”